Risk-Free Weight Loss Pill On the Way...But Will It Work?

I've always believed that taking weight loss pills is cheating...they're like the steroids of dieting.

Not only are they dangerous, but taking diet pills is unfair to your body. While you could be treating your system to all the wonderful health benefits of regular exercise and a balanced diet, you're popping a heart attack-inducing magic pill and continuing to live your life as cavalierly as you like.

However, there's another argument: That sometimes willpower is not enough, and some people seriously need a tool besides their own judgement to prevent them from overeating.

Lucky for us, a possible cure is in the works from our friendly Canadian neighbors. A research team at The University of Montreal is currently developing a safe pill to aid in appetite suppression.

The pill's main ingredient, Leptin, is a natural protein in the body that signals the brain when a person is full.

“Taken orally, such a pill would provide obese people with the sensation of being full," says Dr. Cammisotto, one of the leading researchers. "They would eat less and in turn lose weight."

But will it work?

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that some extremely obese people may have a leptin immunity or have built up a resistance to it. However, recent studies conducted by Cammisotto and his team on obese mice, suggest that leptin administration does work in suppressing appetite and aiding weight loss.

The general consensus is more testing needs to be done, specifically on humans. The University expects a prototype to be ready sometime in 2010.

For now I will stick to suppressing my appetite by watching Snookie and "The Situation" make-out on re-runs MTV's Jersey Shore.